Business owners saw the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across industries first-hand. Owners had to change strategies, come up with ways to stay afloat to achieve their goals with minimum spending. Some cut their expenses by working from home instead of leasing a space. Others depended on word of mouth as a marketing channel instead of the traditional ones.
With only a few weeks to go before we wrap up 2021 and as we plan our financials, let us pencil in strategies that can help to generate higher returns on investment (ROIs) and cut our expenses in 2022.
Automate your employees’ tasks
When you run a business, you come to appreciate your time more. You know that two hours wasted means two hours that your business could have negotiated a deal with a potential client. The great thing, though, is that software programmes offer us the opportunity to automate the tasks that take up most of our employees’ time. That allows them to focus on bigger issues. You could start with preparing automated responses to your e-mails and social media channels and invest in chatbots that answer your customers' most common questions. This will positively affect your ROIs, because that means your employees have more time to be productive and can achieve their goals faster.
Offer branded solutions
Think about what you can offer with your current resources that could generate more income. If you run a popular print publication with a high circulation for instance, you can think of providing your content through different formats such as podcasts and videos. YouTube channels with high viewership and popular podcasts present your business with ways to generate income through advertisements and sponsored content. A media publication could also use its expertise and team to offer branded products, creative solutions for entities through the production of books, audio, or special edition magazines.
Consider cost-efficient marketing strategies
You can’t have a business without customers, and marketing is the way to attract your clients. The strain that the pandemic put on businesses meant that spending on marketing had to be cut. But it doesn’t mean that there aren’t effective ways to get your message out. Consider advertising on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, as you also work on your social media presence. You can invest as little as $5 a day and adjust the budget to your needs. Another effective way to market your brand is through competitions held on social media.
Invite your customers to like a certain post on your Instagram page for instance. Invite their followers to follow and like your post for a chance to win a product, or an experience. This is an effective strategy to improve your brand’s visibility and attract more followers. Network, and offer referral benefits to customers who bring in more clients.
Have the right corporate culture in place
Ensure that you’ve set up a company culture that enhances your employees’ productivity, inspires their growth, and brings out the best in them. Employee turnover can put a dent on our balance sheets. It’s both time and financially consuming to find and train employees, so invest in retaining your staff.
Be environmentally conscious
Finally, caring for the environment and incorporating sustainability is good for business. Cut back on your expenses while committing to preserving your environment by going paperless and integrating other sustainability solutions in your business operations.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and communications consultant based in Abu Dhabi. Twitter: @manar_alhinai